mes in homeopathic practice where non-physician practitioners can prescribe safely. Although these practitioners should always have a physician backing them up. There are many case scenarios or clinical situations that recognize homeopathy as a valid treatment for certain ailments and not just the result of a placebo effect. For example, in 1980 the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology reported a study involving arthritic patients treated with an anti-inflammatory drug. Half of the group received a homeopathic remedy while a control group received placebos. The double-blind study concluded that there was a statistically significant improvement in pain, stiffness and grip strength among patients who received homeopathic treatment. (Gibson,1980).A more recent study published in the Lancet compared the effects of a homeopathic preparation of mixed grass pollen with placebo in 144 patients with active hay fever. Patients treated with homeopathic remedies showed a significant reduction in both patient and doctor assessed symptom scores. There was no evidence that placebo effect could fully explain the reduction in symptoms. ( Reilly,1986). As mentioned previously, a review of 107 clinical trials of homeopathic medications published in the British Medical Journal, showed positive results of homeopathy in 81 trials. (Kleijnen,1991)Although there has been research to validate the methodology and the effectiveness of homeopathy, the concern for some of the population to rely solely on homeopathic treatment leads to the ethical issues concerning health care. Using homeopathic medicines as a first mode of treatment in nonemergency primary care would lead to its application in a wide, perhaps even a very wide assortment of acute care. At the most extreme extent, someone could say that homeopathic medicines can and should be considered whenever some type of heroic medical treatment is not necessary. At the other end, one could say that homeo...
